chance, that I could make those people dance

THAT MUSIC USED TO MAKE ME SMILE AND I KNEW IF I HAD MY CHANCE

that I could make those people dance

Even in the lead up to the shutdown, Sean said

Sean McConnell at his parent’s Barmah property.

ANNA MCGUINNESS

coronavirus; it was

the day the music died.

As soon as the first restrictions were announced—and immediately enforced—the music industry collapsed.

Venues were closed; gigs were cancelled, the crowds disappeared; and musicians were the collateral damage.

Barham blues musician Sean McConnell was booked for Echuca’s Winter Blues festival in July with his band White Lightning, but the pandemic saw the opportunity scrapped.

“People were just in shock, nothing like this had happened before,” Sean explained.

“We’ve dealt with lockout laws and noise curfews which have impacted the industry, but this was a full-on shutdown.”

Sean and White Lightning were hit front on with the ‘full-on’ shutdowns.

They were booked for the Barham Hotel the same week as the stage three restrictions were unveiled and the show was canned.

Photo: Lydia Grant. things were becoming “really quiet and dark” with ticket sales slowing as crowds stayed home.

Even worse, many of those in the industry were left penniless and couldn’t find welfare support.

“A lot of musicians were excluded from the JobKeeper scheme,” Sean said.

“Because of the nature of employment, it can be hard to prove that it’s a regular source of income.”

But Sean still considers himself one of the lucky ones.

As a fulltime landscape architect and part time musician, he was still able to work from home through the lockdown—but his plan to record a new CD this year went down the drain, along with all his gigs.

The 2020 Winter Blues festival would have been Sean’s 19th in attendance, but coronavirus saw its cancellation announced in May.

“It’s obviously disappointing but I felt due to the pandemic it was probably the safest option,” he said.

“It felt like too big a risk to take, it would be very difficult to social distance at such a popular festival.”

Sean first attended as a five-year-old spectator and since then he’s only missed one year.

“I find there’s a very warm, fun atmosphere and there’s the smell of wood smoke and the sound of the paddle steamers,” he said.

“It’s an incredibly unique festival with a lot of character and we see people come back every year and watch us develop as musicians, it’s a really community driven festival.”

During the lockdown Sean used different means to connect with his audience, recording live performances and sharing them on YouTube.

“One good thing about having more time at home is getting some more original songs out there,” he said.

“People have been trying to do it for themselves, Bandcamp is a really popular website for selling CDs and merchandise.

Sean McConnell with Dewey on his parent’s Barmah property. Photo: Lydia Grant.

“But it’s a lot easier to convince someone to buy a CD after you’ve performed to them rather than through a Facebook post asking for support, when a lot of people have been financially affected themselves,” he said.

The website I Lost My Gig is quantifying the immediate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Australia’s live event and entertainment industry.

Musicians and related workers can enter how much money they’ve lost through cancelled gigs— by the end of April the Australian total was $340million.

Sean said the many moving parts of the industry means there’ll be a “massive delay” in

Sean McConnell on his parent’s Barmah property where he returned to in July due to the coronavirus lockdown. Photo: Lydia Grant. getting back to normal.

“Even if restrictions ended today, it would still take months and months to book and plan and get everyone back in work,” he said.

“A lot of venues in Melbourne are going up for sale, iconic venues like the Gasometer in Collingwood, so a lot of places are really teetering on the edge.”

“We might see a lot of venues collapse if they’re not rescued and once they go under and there’s nowhere to play, it’ll be very difficult,” he said.

If social distancing rules stay in place for some time, as some people expect, capacity at venues and festivals will be reduced.

“It’s an uncertain future, there’s going to be a lot of financial hurt,” Sean said.

Sean grew up in Barham but has lived in Melbourne for the past six years. In early June he decided to return to the place where he learnt to love music.

The old shed he’s moved into is where he first played on his parent’s hobby farm.

“It was a very difficult decision to move away from Melbourne, but there’s no future in sight for live shows and the city was becoming a bit of a hectic place,” he said.

“Moving to the country is like a holiday, it’s a really good opportunity to get some rest and relaxation in the country air.”

Sean McConnell with Wallace the budgie. Photo: Lydia Grant.

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